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More Updates (and some actual news)!

Man. Lately I feel like this has become my only mission in life, but I am here to rattle the tin can for the server fund. I have had multiple emails (and a few forum posts) about the status of the new server, so I figured it was time for an update.

The new server is paid for and online. Jim and I discussed it at length and I decided to take the hit. The setup fees and first month's hosting costs wiped-out the donations. It's gone. Nothing left. Nada.

Obviously I am still paying for the existing server as well until we can get the new one setup just right, and everything moved over. That means double the hosting costs (but hopefully only for this month). If you feel frisky, click the "PayPal Donate" button on the front page. You'll feel better about yourself and chicks will dig you. I swear!

While I am up here on my soapbox, I'd like to take another opportunity to send out some warm fuzzies to MalHavoc. This guy is the hardest working web programmer I know, and he has been busily coding away at our new (fully database driven) site engine. The thing is... he is doing all of this for free.

The new engine will mean lots of things to you. It will eventually provide for 2CPU.com news on your cellphones and PDA's as well as increased searchability and user customization, and the list goes on and on. The most important thing that the engine will bring to the table is that it will ease the burden of the news and reviews crew here by allowing us a quick and easy way to get our information to you. Faster is better.

While I am hogging all of your screen real estate, I might as well do it right.

You may also be noticing some new advertising in the coming weeks and months. This is something that I am currently trying-out as a means of revenue for the site (other than begging). I would never ask you to click on a banner just because it is on this page, but if it's something that you are interested in, by all means, click away! I would also like to clarify a point before it is even brought up... an ad on this site is not and will not be considered an endorsement from 2CPU.com. An ad is simply that: an ad.

Now how about a little bit of actual news so that I don't feel like I have completely wasted your time?

Xsavier gets the cookie today for sending in this link about SMP cellphones. Heh. That's right, the "Power of Two (TM)" is reaching far beyond the server and high-end workstation market, right into the palm of your hand!

The time may soon come when your cell phone has more processors than your personal computer. NEC, Matsushita Electric Industrial, and Matsushita Communication Industrial have decided to employ two microprocessors in third-generation cellular telephone handsets that are expected to start hitting the market within the next 12 months, they said Thursday.

The dual-processors are unlikely to outclass personal computers in terms of power, but the companies' decision does highlight the growing complexity of handsets and the applications that they run.

Now I know that none of you would be caught dead without one now, would you?

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netnic30
Hardware Hacker

Posts: 9
Joined: 2001-08-19

#14297 Posted on: 03/01/2002 10:44 AM
I wonder what percentage of the forum users see the front page on a daily or even weekly basis, I know that I suggested this in the last topic about donations but what about a mailing to all the forum users requesting a donation?

Note: To all those who would consider the above idea spam, realize that the request is not "off topic" and a general advertizing rule is that an ad or message must be seen at least 7 times to have an impact.

Public radio does this all the time and with great success, clearly value is being had by those that use this site so why not ask for it directly (I would also point out that if not a daily reader content on the front page gets into the archive area fairly quickly

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I'm looking forward to the coming reviews and transfer to the new server.

... I have to say though, that even now, 2cpu.com & forums really perform admirably compared to many sites I visit regularly. Staying on top of the game, I guess.

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malc
Registered User

Posts: 4
Joined: 2001-05-11

#14303 Posted on: 03/02/2002 02:54 AM
Ummm.... there's no rational way that the dual-CPU phones can even *vaguely* be described as "SMP". This is actually a classic implementation of functional asymetric multiprocessing!

In large part, this phenomenon has developed since there is no widely accepted hand-held OS that is well designed for real-time exceptions (such as the phone ringing). There is such an OS (Symbian's Epoch), but outside the phone business no-one seems that interested in the thing, with the bulk of the hand-held OS market being bizarrely interesed in WindowsCE/PocketPC or PalmOS, the former being a bit of a kludge, and the latter being a LOT of a kludge (it scales about as well as the average government, for example).

So, recognizing this, Britain's Psion extended their OS to be platform-independent and real-time friendly, and does anyone care? Well, apart from the Scandinavians... (things like the Nokia 9000).

Malc.

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Chilcotin
SMP Aware

Posts: 190
Joined: 2001-12-30

#14304 Posted on: 03/02/2002 01:05 PM
Is there a way to donate without using paypal? I was sitting here tonight with my credit card and my glass of wine (ok maybe my third glass of wine) but just could not bring myself to enter all the information that paypal wanted to hear about me.

I bought and built my dual D6VAA after doing some serious lurking here and I would like to pay my dues.

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AlanBarber
Dual Wannabe

Posts: 82
Joined: 2000-02-22

#14305 Posted on: 03/03/2002 01:18 AM
if you pm or email hooz I think he can give you an address of where you can mail a check
[root:/usr/src]$make buildworld
make: Please wait 6-8 weeks for your world to be built and shipped to you. Thank you for your order!

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rogersr
Registered User

Posts: 96
Joined: 2000-07-21

#14306 Posted on: 03/03/2002 05:57 AM
Yep, you guys do need a server.

Here it is late on a Sat night, essentially, site is pretty inactive, avg load is ~ 1.0 or so)

I just hit Refresh (F5) several dozen times in a minute and got the load factor up to 6.80 for the last minute!!! A pretty weak stress test for sure (one person and a refresh key for < 1 minute).

Head's up...incoming PayPal contribution!

Rhino

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Hooz
Administrator

Posts: 2388
Joined: 2000-03-29

#14307 Posted on: 03/09/2002 09:00 PM
Due to some technical difficulties we have not gotten everything moved over to the new server yet, and consequently... I just got dinged for both machines again this month

The server fund was already empty so all the money for both servers had to come from my own pocket. Now would be a good time to donate (again).

Hopefully this will be the last time I have to ask you guys for help. The advertising thing looks like it may work out pretty well and the site may actually become profitable. Heh. But I won't know much more until next month, so it doesn't help much now
[size=1][url="http://www.2cpu.com"]2CPU.com[/url] - Because two are always better than one!
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Hooz
Administrator

Posts: 2388
Joined: 2000-03-29

#14309 Posted on: 03/09/2002 10:12 PM
For both servers the charge was $242 ($136 for the old and $106 for the new).
[size=1][url="http://www.2cpu.com"]2CPU.com[/url] - Because two are always better than one!
Are you folding? [url="http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/team_summary.php?s=&t=3074"]2CPU.com Folding@Home Team[/url][url="http://www.heatware.com/eval.php?id=19979"]My Heatware[/url][/size]